Cable winch



I J. c., CLARK July 21, 1959 CABLE WINCH 2 Sheets-Shet 1 Filed Feb. 27, 1956 INVENIOR. John C. C la 2']:

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4 TTYS J. C. CLARK CABLE WINCH July 21, 1959 2- Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 27, 1956 -INVENTOk. I John C. Clark United States Pate CABLE WINCH John C. Clark, Perkins, Califi, assignor, by mesne assignments, to Western Piping & Engineerin Co., Inc, an Francisco, Calif.

Application February 27, 1956, Serial No. 567 ,817

4 Claims. (Cl. 254-165) This invention relates; to winches, and particularly to load-binding winches initially designed for use in connection with the retaining cables of a heavy longitudinally shiftable loadsuch as a truck trailer-on a flat car.

With the sudden longitudinal jolting to which such cars are subjected during switching operations, or when the train is started and stopped, there is a tendency for the load to shift lengthwise on the car, placing an excessive tension on the retaining cables which sometimes causes the same to snap.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide a cable winch, adapted to be mounted on a flat car or other load supporting bed, so constructed that while the cable connected to the load and to the drum of the winch may be readily placed under sufficient tension to normally retain the load against movement on its bed, said cable can still give or yield when the flat car or bed is subjected to a sudden impact. This is accomplished by placing shock absorbing means between the drum on which the cable is mounted and the. shaft of the winch by means of which the drum is rotated to a normal cable-tensioning position.

Another object of the invention is to construct the winch so that with a minor dismantling of the same, the shock absorbing elements may be readily removed and replaced by others when necessary or desirable.

It is also an object of the invention to provide a cable winch which is designed for ease and economy of manufacture.

An additional object of the invention is to provide a practical, reliable, and durable cable winch, and one which will be exceedingly effective for the purpose for which it is designed.

These objects are accomplished by means of such structure and relative arrangement of parts as will fully appear by a perusal of the following specification and claims.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the winch.

Fig. 2 is an end elevation of the same.

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a transverse section on line 44 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is an end elevation of the cable drum, detached.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, and to the characters of reference marked thereon, the winch comprises a supporting frame 1 which includes upstanding end plates 2 and 3. This frame is adapted to be mounted on a flat car or other load-retaining bed by any suitable means. The frame 1 supports a shaft or mandrel unit 4 which includes an outer end portion 5 radially oriflced, as at 6, for the reception of a rod by which the unit may be turned, a ratchet wheel 7 disposed outside and adjacent plate 2, a shaft 8 journaled in plate 2 and projecting through and beyond plate 3 in clearance rela-* tion to a central opening 9 therein, and a pair of longitudinal, opposed keys or splines 10 on the shaft extending substantially the full length thereof.

2,895,714 Patented July 21, 1959 A ratchet wheel 11, the same size as wheel 7, is slidable on the outer end of shaft 8 and the adjacent por tion of the keys so as to be held against rotation relative to the shaft. The wheel 11 includes a hub 12 turnably fitting in the opening 9 in plate 3. The ratchet wheel 11 is remo vably retained in place by a cotter pin 13 projected through the shaft 8 outwardly of said wheel.

Double-toothed pawls 14 engage the wheels 7 and 11 and are pivoted at their upper end, as at 15, on the respective plates 2 and 3; the ratchet wheels and pawls being arranged so that upon downward movement of the Wheels on the side adjacent the pawls, said pawls will swing clear of the teeth of the wheels to allow the latter to freely rotate. The pawls are releasably held in a wheel-locking position by means of hook-rods 16 projecting through holes 17 in the plates 2 and 3 in front of the pawls; said rods 16 being connected at their lower end to said plates by flexible elements, such as chains 18.

A cable drum 19 of tubular form surrounds shaft 8 between plates 2 and 3, and is formed on the outside centrally of its ends-with a hook member 20 to engage the terminal eye of a pull cable 21. The drum 19 is formed with a pair of diametrally opposed internal splines 22 extending the full length thereof. The shaft splines 10 are arranged to engage the bore of the drum with a running fit, while the drum splines 22 are ar* ranged to engage the shaft 8 with a running lit. The drum is therefore maintained in a centered position on the shaft, while being capable of limited rotation rela tive thereto.

Arcuate, compressible, heavy-duty rubber shock absorbing shoes 23 are disposed in the drum for its full length and extend between one shaft spline 10 and one drum spline 22, and between the other shaft spline and the other drum spline; the normal uncompressed arcuate extent of the shoes being such that the engaged splines are then about as far apart as possible, as shown in Fig. 4. The shoes are disposed relative to the rotation of the shaft and drum in a direction necessary to tighten the cable, so that said shoes will be placed under load, but without undue compression, when the cable is taut. In other words, the shoes become compressed, and the shaft and drum splines at the opposite ends of the shoes approach each other. The shoes are provided along their spline engaging edges by metal bindings 24.

The drum is stiffened at its end nearest plate 2, and the extent of rotation of the drum on the shaft limited independently of the shoes, by means of arcuate shaftengaging web elements 25. These elements extend from the splines 22 on one side thereof in the direction necessary to compress the shoes, with their outer ends in the path of the shaft splines 10 so as to engage the same when the shoes are compressed to a practicable limit.

In operation, in connection with a trailer-carrying flat car for instance, a pair at least of the winches are mounted on the car beyond the ends of the trailer, and the cables 21 extend from corresponding drums in a generally horizontal direction to any suitable anchor points on the trailer.

The shaft of one winch may then be locked against rotation (by setting and holding the pawls 14 thereof), while the shaft of the opposed winch is rotated until the cable is sufiiciently taut to hold the trailer against longitudinal shifting on the flat car under normal conditions; this winch shaft being then locked against furtherrotation. When thus tensioning the cable, the shoes 23 may be compressed to a certain extent, but insufficiently to fully compress the same.

Then, when a sudden shifting shock is imparted to the trailer in either direction by reason of a corresponding sudden starting or stopping of the flat car, such shifting tendency places an added tension on the cable of one winch or the other. Such added tensioning of the cable rotates the drum of such winch, so that the shoes 23 thereof are placed under further compression and the shock is absorbed without any tendency to snap the cable.

In the event that it is desirable or necessary to change or replace the shoes, it is only necessary to remove the cotter pin 13 and pull the adjacent wheel 11 off the shaft. This exposes the shoes 23, and since the opening 9 in the plate 3 is as large as the bore of the drum, the shoes may be readily slid out from-or inserted intothe drum without further dismantling of the winch.

From the foregoing description it will be readily seen that there has been produced such a device as will substantially fulfill the objects of the invention, as set forth herein.

While this specification sets forth in detail the present and preferred construction of the device, still in practice such deviations therefrom may be resorted to as do not form a departure from the spirit of the invention, as defined by the appended claims.

Having thus described the invention, the following is claimed as new and useful, and upon which Letters Patent are desired.

What is claimed is:

1. In a winch, a tubular drum to receive a cable in wrap-around relation, the drum having a bore therethrough, a shaft projecting through the drum in clearance relation to the bore thereof, means to releasably hold the shaft against rotation, opposed splines projecting from the shaft toward the drum bore, opposed splines in the drum projecting from said bore toward the shaft in circumferentially spaced relation to the shaft splines, and shock absorbing members disposed in the spaces between and engaging predetermined ones of the splines and arranged so that upon rotation of the shaft in a direction to rotate the drum in the same direction to wind the cable onto the drum the rotative force will be taken through said members; said members comprising compressible rubber shoes extending substantially the full length of the drum.

2. A winch comprising a mounting frame which ineludes spaced end plates, a drum disposed between the plates and having a bore, a shaft journaled in one plate and projecting through a circular opening in the other plate concentric with and substantially the same diameter as the drum bore, opposed splines projecting from the shaft toward the drum bore, opposed splines in the drum projecting from said bore toward the shaft in circumferentially spaced relation to the shaft splines, shock absorbing shoes removably disposed in the space between the bore and the shaft and extending between and engaging predetermined ones of the shaft and drum splines, a member on the shaft outwardly of said other plate and including a hub fitting the opening therein, and means removably retaining said member against removal from the shaft.

3. A winch, as in claim 2, in which the shaft splines project beyond the drum and through said other plate opening; said member being arranged to receive said splines therethrough in fitting relation whereby said memher is held against rotation relative to the shaft and the hub forms a bearing for the shaft in said other plate.

4. A winch, as in claim 2, with a ratchet wheel on the shaft outwardly of the one plate, a pawl mounted on said plate to releasably engage the wheel, and an element engageable with the plate to then releasably project behind the pawl and rigidly retain the pawl against disengagement of the same from the ratchet wheel.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 708,455 Blake Sept. 21, 1902 993,409 Roderick May 30, 1911 1,598,795 Willene Sept. 7, 1926 1,806,992 Fieux May 26, 1931 2,386,086 Beebe Oct. 2, 1945 2,402,789 Tweedale June 25, 1946 FOREIGN PATENTS 487,840 Germany Dec. 17, 1929 662,117 Germany July 5, 1938. 

